Written Answers Thursday 15 June 2006

Scottish Executive

Compulsory Purchase Orders

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is planned to bring home loss payments in respect of compulsory purchase orders in Scotland into line with those in England and Wales.

Johann Lamont: The Executive is considering the appropriate level of home loss payments for Scotland and will consider bringing forward proposals in due course, should a change in levels be required.

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for assessment of dentists’ continued commitment to NHS dentistry in respect of gross income and patient numbers and what would constitute a negative assessment of continued commitment to NHS dentistry.

Lewis Macdonald: The criteria for being regarded as an NHS committed practice, in respect of the payment of certain allowances, are that the dentists within a practice have to:

  
provide general dental services to all categories of patients;
have an average of 500 registered NHS patients per dentist, of which at least an average of 100 per dentist must be fee paying adults, and 
have average gross earnings of £50,000 or above per dentist.
To continue to be regarded as an NHS committed practice a practice has to continue to meet the above criteria but must also maintain or increase its NHS patient profile.


  Failure to continue to meet the above criteria will result in the practice no longer being regarded as NHS committed. Where a practice has exceptional reasons for not continuing to meet the criteria this will be taken into consideration.

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been given to NHS boards or the NHS Dental Practice Board about the criteria for assessing dentists’ continued commitment to NHS dentistry in respect of gross income and patient numbers and when such guidance was given.

Lewis Macdonald: The criteria for being regarded as an NHS committed practice for the enhanced rate of the general dental practice allowance is contained in Determination XIV of the Statement of Dental Remuneration. Dentists were provided with an outline of the new NHS commitment criteria in the October edition of the Scottish Dental News. I provided further details in my letter to dentists of 29 November. Full guidance on the introduction of this allowance was issued to NHS boards, Practitioner Services of NHS National Services Scotland and dentists in NHS: 2005 PCA(D)11, issued on 29 December 2005, a copy of which is available on SHOW at: http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/pca.asp .

Drug Misuse

Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that education has a role to play in drug prevention.

Hugh Henry: One of the key priorities of the Executive’s national drugs strategy is to ensure young people are aware of the risks of drug taking and of the benefits of a positive and healthy lifestyle. Education is absolutely central to that. All schools in Scotland now provide drug education, and we are specifically targeting young people through our Know the Score drugs information campaign.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the post-operative mortality rate has been in NHS hospitals in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board, and what assessment it has made of the post-operative mortality rate in other developed countries.

Mr Andy Kerr: Tables showing 30 day mortality have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39853). The rates have been adjusted for age, sex and deprivation categories of patients, but have not been risk adjusted and do not take account of how ill or frail the patients presenting for surgery had been. There is also no adjustment for the complexity of the operation performed. Some indicators with a narrower focus can be found at: www.isdscotland.org/quality_improvement .

Land Reform

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what factors it took into account when reaching the decision to exempt Balado Activity Centre, by Kinross, from access rights under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 for 28 days in the calendar year.

Rhona Brankin: The Balado site has been granted an exemption from access rights under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 for the T in the Park event. The 28-day period allows three weeks for site preparation, and one week for dismantling after the event. The decision was based on the information provided in the application form and also took into account further supporting information from the applicant, and the representations and objections received through the consultation process.

National Health Service

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the capital plan for NHS Argyll and Clyde was over-committed at the time of transfer to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Mr Andy Kerr: No, NHS Argyll and Clyde’s capital plan was not over-committed at the time of transfer to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. NHS Argyll and Clyde reported an underspend of £8.5 million in 2005-06. This has been apportioned in 2006-07 between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (£7.25 million) and NHS Highland (£1.25 million) on advice provided by NHS Argyll and Clyde on project slippage. From 2002-03 the capital allocations to NHS Argyll and Clyde, NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Highland were as follows:

  

 NHS Board
Capital Allocation
2002-03 (£000)
Capital Allocation
2003-04 (£000)
% Increase Over
2002-03
Capital Allocation
2004-05 (£000)
% Increase Over 
2003-04


 Argyll and Clyde
 9,956
 13,230
 32.88
 14,372
 8.63


 Highland
 5,771
 7,510
 30.13
 8,363
 11.36


 Greater Glasgow
 37,209
 44,610
 19.89
 50,963
 14.24



  

 NHS Board
Capital Allocation 
2005-06 (£000)
% Increase Over
2004-05
Capital Allocation 
2006-07 (£000)
% Increase Over
2005-06


 Argyll and Clyde
 15,647
 8.87
 
 


 Highland
 9,321
 11.46
 15,434
 65.58


 Greater Glasgow
 55,633
 9.16
 81,288
 46.11

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address delayed discharge from hospitals in Argyll and Bute.

Lewis Macdonald: It is for Argyll and Bute Council and NHS Highland to work together as a local partnership to reduce the number of people inappropriately delayed in hospital. The Executive’s Joint Improvement Team is working with the partnership on a range of issues which are impeding progress in achieving this.

National Health Service

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how many elective surgery operations, excluding day surgery, were cancelled due to hospital beds being unavailable in each year since 1999, broken down into unavailable (a) high dependency and (b) intensive care beds.

Mr Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not held centrally. Information on cancelled admissions to hospital is collected but does not specifically identify cancelled operations prior to or during a hospital stay. The reasons for these cancelled admissions are not recorded centrally.

  Limited information is available on the number of in-patient episodes where operations/procedures were not carried out following admission. Again, the reasons for these cancellations are not recorded centrally.

National Health Service

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have experienced delayed discharge from intensive care units to high dependency units because of high dependency beds being unavailable in each year since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: The specific information requested is not held centrally.

Older People

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to improve the delivery of care services for elderly people in Argyll and Bute.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2O-10022 on 1 June 2006. All answers to oral parliamentary questions are available in the Official Report on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Transport

Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has introduced, or plans to introduce, to ensure that there is efficient and reliable transport to public services such as hospitals and schools.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive is committed to improving access to health and education services though a number of means:

  
by ensuring, through planning, that schools and hospitals are served by a range of transport modes, including public transport;
by giving grant assistance to voluntary groups and organisations to provide community transport services in the more remote areas of Scotland, where there are no scheduled public transport services, or where they are very limited;
by providing guidance on the statutory responsibilities of education authorities to provide school transport, and importantly


  the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 requires Regional Transport Partnerships to draw up Regional Transport Strategies which will strengthen transport provision in their regions. These strategies will be at their best when they work in genuine partnerships with education and planning authorities, health boards and between constituent councils.

Scottish Enterprise

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure the continued operation of Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway following the suspension of four senior managers in the agency.

Nicol Stephen: The management arrangements for local enterprise companies within the Scottish Enterprise area are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role Scottish Natural Heritage plays in promoting sustainable development.

Rhona Brankin: Scottish Natural Heritage promotes sustainable development through its formal and informal advice to public authorities, to land managers and the wider public. More specifically, it is able to promote sustainable development through its grant programmes, research and education services and by demonstrating and issuing guidance on best practice.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of each of the projects that have been supported under the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy; how much exchequer funding is being provided for each project; how the remaining funding will be provided; what the timescale is for the completion of each project; whether there have been any cost or timescale changes to the projects since the strategy was announced, and, if so, what these changes are.

Patricia Ferguson: The Executive and  sportscotland will be contributing £49.5million (£28.8million Exchequer and nearly £21million from the Lottery Sports Fund) to the ten projects approved at Stage One of the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy. As stated in my answer to S2W-26373, the allocation to each project will be confirmed on approval of the related Stage Two application, the first of which is nearing approval.

  The three main reasons for changes in timescale can be summarised as:

  
1. By virtue of their size, there are planning complexities which take time to work through (local consultation, traffic impact assessments etc).
2. Again, given the scale of these projects, the procurement process, including advertising through OJEU for design teams and contractors, adds time to the project programme. This is difficult to estimate at the outset and it is only after these projects are developed beyond the initial concept that it is possible to make a realistic estimate of completion dates.
3. £50 million is a substantial contribution to the Strategy but the projects will cost some £230 million in total and it takes time for the local authorities, in some cases working with partners, to put together full funding packages.


  The following table sets out the information requested:

  

Lead ApplicantProject
 Exchequer and Lottery Sports Fund Allocation*
 Estimated Date of Completion


 At Stage One
 As at 31 May 2006
 At Stage One
 As at 31 May 2006


Falkirk Council
Westfield Stadium: Regional indoor football facility.
£3,000,000
£3,000,000
 March 2007
 April 2008


Stirling Council
Forthbank: Curling academy and sports hall (and Swimming pool and hockey pitch.)
£2,000,000 
(+£500,000 BFSP1)
£2,000,000 
(+£500,000 BFSP1)
 October 2007
 April 2008


City of Edinburgh Council
Sighthill Park: Municipal stadium (6k seats), synthetic grass pitch, 2 grass pitches, indoor athletics training facility and sports hall (and Gymnastics facility).
£6,500,000 
(+£500,000 BFSP1)
£6,500,000
(+£500,000 BFSP1)
 May 2009
 June 2011


 Hunters Hall: 
Indoor football facility and outdoor pitches2. 
£6,000,000
£3,000,0002
 May 2009
 March 2009


 Royal Commonwealth Pool: 
Upgrade to provide 50m x 8 lane main pool, international diving pool.
£4,000,000
£4,000,000
 January 2009
 January 2011


Aberdeen City Council: 
Linksfield: Indoor athletics training facility, outdoor pitches, indoor football facility and sports hall.
£5,000,000
£5,000,000
 October 2008
 August 2008


Glasgow City Council:
East End: National indoor sports arena with 200m track, indoor athletics training facility, sports hall and velodrome.
£9,500,0002
£13,500,0002
 March 2009
 August 2009


 Scotstoun: 
Municipal stadium (6k seats) and indoor athletics training area.
£4,500,000
£4,500,000
 May 2007
 May 2008


 Toryglen: 
Indoor football facility and outdoor pitches.
£3,000,000
£3,000,000
 September 2007
 July 2008


North Lanarkshire Council 
Ravenscraig: 
Indoor athletics training facility, indoor football facility, sports hall and outdoor pitch.
£5,000,000
£5,000,000
 August 2007
 September 2008



  Notes:

  *The precise amount of Exchequer and Lottery Sports Fund allocation to each project will be determined as the programme rolls out.

  1. Building for Sport Programme for elements of the project that were not eligible under the NRSFS

  2. Following the bid to bring the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Glasgow, the City of Edinburgh Council agreed to remove the velodrome element from their Hunters Hall project and agreement has been reached with Glasgow City Council for it to be added to the East End project.